(1 October 2025 – Japan) US investment firm KKR is moving quickly to build a private credit business in Japan, citing rising interest rates, corporate governance reforms and a deep pool of insurance assets as key drivers.
Diane Raposio, head of credit and capital markets for Asia, said the US firm is tapping opportunities to make yen-denominated loans as local banks face lending limits. “That’s definitely the playbook here in Japan,” she told the Financial Times.
KKR recently hired ex-Goldman Sachs banker Ken Murata to lead its Japanese private credit push. Rival groups including Blackstone and Apollo are also scaling up operations in the country.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Raposio likened conditions to the post-financial crisis US, when private credit boomed as companies sought alternatives to bank funding. Founders looking to delist but unwilling to sell to private equity are turning to new financing options, she noted.
While KKR has yet to close a deal, Raposio said progress will be gradual: “If we are able to do one deal a year in the first couple of years, I think we will be doing very well.”
Japan’s exit from deflation and shift away from ultra-low rates has made private lending more viable. Insurance assets, which Raposio described as “potentially the biggest market outside of the US”, provide long-term, lower-cost capital.
“We’re getting yen insurance liabilities, typically 30-year liabilities,” she added. “That… gives us a much lower cost of capital, which becomes a lot more relevant in this market.”